A FEMALE pilot has revealed she faces constant sexism from her passengers – including one who insisted women shouldn’t fly planes.

Annie Hellner, 25, set her sights on the high-flying career when she was just 12-years-old, dedicating years of study to achieving her dream.

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Annie Hellner, 25, said she had wanted to be a pilot since she was 12

But the young woman said since taking to the skies, it hasn’t always been smooth sailing.

The pilot said: “There’s been passengers who have doubted my ability to fly the plane, simply because I’m a woman.

“I remember one man who, when he found out that I was the pilot, started to complain about why I was let into the flight deck, and that women shouldn’t be flying airplanes because it’s a man’s job.

“I think I speak for all female pilots when I say that every female pilot has had similar experiences at least once in their career.”

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The young pilot said she had been inspired by her own father’s career

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Annie has touched down in more than 30 countries during her career already

But the young pilot said she had also received praise from passengers, who were impressed to see a woman on the flight deck.

She added: “I just hope that we can come to a point when there’s no male or female pilots but simply just pilots, because that’s exactly what we are.”

Annie, who regularly shares snaps of her flights on social media, said she had been inspired to take to the skies by her father, who became a pilot in the 1980s.

Annie, who is based in London, said: “He always brought me and my older brother to all kinds of air shows and flight museums, listening to him telling stories about when he was a pilot made me fall in love with aviation as well.”

It comes after a heated debate on This Morning, where journalist Angel Epstein said she felt more comfortable knowing that a pilot was a male.

She said: “The idea that I like a man to be the one to look after me when we are in positions of absolute power.”

But Captain Marnie Munns – who currently works as a commercial pilot for easyJet – revealed she simply considered Angel as a nervous flyer.

Pilot Annie said she had already fallen in love with her chosen career after finishing her studies in 2016.

She said: “The rush of adrenaline is simply amazing, when you move the thrust levels for take-off and hear the jet engines spool up, it’s something you’ll never get tired of. Sometimes I still can’t believe that I’m piloting a Boeing 737.

“There are definitely a few perks, the first one being the office view of course. I would bet that I have the best view in the world.

“You’ll get to watch sunsets and sunrises, different kinds of weather phenomena and see famous landmarks like the Eiffel Tower in Paris and Colosseum in Rome.”

She said she was now determined to inspire others to reach for the skies, saying: “My father always said to me that you can do anything as long as you have the strength, willpower and courage to do it, and I’ve lived by these words.”